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References

One of the great things about researching video games in education is that you get to experience all kinds of fun, interesting books, articles, and videos about, well, video games in education!

There are plenty of resources on the internet about video games and education.  However, far fewer of those resources are relevant to using video games in the English classroom.  And even fewer of those resources address how video games can have an impact on literacy and the brain.  While not all of the resources that I encountered are accessible to the general public, I have included a handful of the more interesting and relevant resources below.
Books
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James Paul Gee - What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy

James Paul Gee is considered the seminal researcher on video games in education.  In addition to his many books, articles, videos, and other resources, Gee's book about video games and literacy is especially relevant to my research and to English language arts instruction in general.

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Zaretta Hammond - ​Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

Hammond approaches the topic of Culturally Responsive Teaching through the lens of brain research.  I found her insights about the workings of the human brain and the impact of human biology on how we learn to be not just amazing but also absolutely essential to my topic.  After reading Hammond's book, I was able to make crucial connections between the brain and student abilities to understand narratives.
Academic Articles
The following academic articles are just a handful of the resources that I used to inform my project.  Collectively, they address various essential issues concerning video games and the English classroom of today.

Some of the most relevant topics include: rethinking the definition of literacy in the 21st century, how the conventional English curriculum can lead to the disengagement of young males, and how video games can be utilized alongside written texts.
​Abrams, S. S., & Gerber, H. R. (2014). Cross-literate digital connections: Contemporary frames for meaning making. English Journal, 103(4), 18-24.

Beavis, C. (2014). Games as text, games as action: Video games in the english classroom. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57(6), 433-439.

Krause, M. B. (2013). A series of unfortunate events: The repercussions of print-literacy as the only literacy for talented boys. Gifted Child Today, 36(4), 237-245.
Videos
James Paul Gee - James Paul Gee on Learning With Video Games
In this video on Edutopia, Gee talks about just a few of the ways that video games can impact education and literacy.
Jane McGonigal - Gaming can make a better world
In her TED Talk video, McGonigal speaks about the potential that video games have to solve problems in the real world.
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